Ziggy's Wish

Ziggy's Wish is the social enterprise that I founded in order to use cross-media storytelling to promote empathy and awareness across a range of social issues; through the development and sale of products including printed books, audio CDs, textiles and wearable items, digital downloads, live events and workshops. We're committed to the social enterprise ethos. We work to make a difference, splitting our profits between reinvesting into our mission and donating to charities that help address social problems such as stigma and abuse, according to our transparent business model. The website looks like this:

PROJECT TIMELINE

Click through to read the individual posts.Or click here to see all HOAX blog posts.

﻿THE ELEGANT HOUND

The inspiration for Ziggy's Wish was my ex-racer rescue greyhound, who sadly died October 2013. You can see him there in the 'Z' of the logo, and read more about how and why he inspired the endeavour on the Ziggy's Wish website. Here, though is a piece I wrote about him when he was alive....

August 2011

The Elegant Hound is my dog. An ex-racing greyhound.

His pet-name is Ziggy. It's what the people at Greyhounds In Need (GIN) called him when he became one of their rescue dogs after his retirement. They called him Ziggy because his racing name was Twiggy's Wish.

Not that he'd have known that.

Ziggy was born in Ireland as are many racing greyhounds. You can tell because he's tattooed in both ears. He lived his entire racing life, however, at Belle Vue racing stadium in Manchester. Here's a YouTube video I found of Ziggy winning his second race. He won the first race too.

Watching the video is a strange experience for me. Despite my dislike of the negative aspects of the sport, I can't help feeling a certain pride, seeing this champion who is now mine.

Fortunately for Ziggy, after his winning days were over, he was one of the lucky ex-racers who made it into the care of a rehoming charity: the wonderful GIN.

But happy endings aren't quite as simple as that.

Zig was big and fast. He still is. He won a lot of races and so was raced till he was almost five years old. That's a long career for a greyhound, and means the one and only institutionalised life that Zig had ever known cut deep from puppyhood into his adult dog lifespan. Not surprising he struggled to adjust once that life was over.

GIN did find people who wanted to help Ziggy. He's both regally handsome and startlingly beautiful, and easily catches the eye. Indeed, to call him The Elegant Hound is no exaggeration. So it wasn't long before an offer of adoption was forthcoming. It was a trial adoption, however, as one of the family members was in a wheelchair; and during that trial Ziggy bit. The family felt unable to keep him, the bite went on his permanent record, there were no further adoption offers, and Zig was put into kennels. Because there are so many ex-racing greyhounds needing homes, many of the greyhound rescue charities also have networks of foster homes. Tireless in their efforts, GIN managed to find Ziggy a foster home, and for a short while he was relieved of the severe separation anxiety (common in ex-racers) that he suffered from at that time. It was a temporary solution though and, with still no further adoption offers on the table, Ziggy was once again put into kennels.

The months rolled on, each bringing more greyhounds to GIN, each greyhound needing a home. With space at a premium and kennels full to capacity, Ziggy was moved to a different kennels in Cheshire - a private kennels but one who rents kennel space to another greyhound charity, the Retired Greyhound Trust, for a small fee.

And that was where I met Zig.

I didn't rush into greyhound adoption. We've always had dogs in my family, always medium-large and often rescue dogs. So I was under no illusions about the commitment involved. But after many months of mulling and life-stuff, I arrived at a time and place where I was ready. Initially I had a lurcher in mind as dogs homes are always full of them. Having never had a lurcher I began researching them. That research led me to greyhounds which in turn led me to ex-racers. Something must have clicked because I found I just couldn't stop reading about them. I must have roved a hundred websites. When I finally came up for air I'd made my decision: likely to be more challenging, likely to be more rewarding. A few calls and emails and some long winding lanes later I arrived at the Cheshire kennels calm and resolute.

I can't remember many of the names (human or animal) so am using generic tags, but the conversation that day went something like this:

Me: Hello? Um, hello? Woman: Can I help you?Me: I'm here to see Man, to look at the greyhounds with a view to adopting.Woman: Man's not here yet. You can wait if you like.[some barking later]Woman: Still here?[makes a phone call]Man will be another hour. I can show you the dogs briefly in the meantime, though they're not my lot so I don't know them that well.Me:Um, thanks.

Woman: This one's Dog 1 [reading the actual name from a card on the kennel door]. He's a great lad. This one's Dog 2. He's a bit loud but a great lad. This one's Dog 3. She's a bit timid but a great girl. This one's Dog 4. He's a great lad. Dog 5's taken. Someone came last week and wants him. This one's Dog 6. He's lively but a great lad... [and so on until] ... This one's Ziggy. He bites. Any of them take your fancy?Me: Um, well. They all seem... great. Maybe I could try walking these ones? [indicating any but the 'aggressive' Ziggy]Woman: Man needs to be here for that. You can wait if you like.

[some more barking later]Man: Sorry I'm late. My wife's leaving me.Me: Oh. Um...Man: Did you want to try walking some of the greyhounds?Me: Yes, please, if that's okay. Just to get a feel for them.Man: It's the best way. Was it a dog or a bitch you wanted?Me: A dog, I think. There was a nice black one in the kennels....

[three well-walked black greyhounds later]Man: What do you think? Any of them suit you?Me: It's hard to say. They're all lovely. I'd be happy taking any one of them. How about I tell you more about me and my situation, and perhaps you can recommend a good match? I'm a writer, I work from home, I'm generally calm and...Man:Would you like to try walking Ziggy?Me: Pardon?Man: Ziggy. He's a great lad.Me: You mean the one that bites?Man: Well, yes. We're obliged to tell you that because it's on his record - but he's a really loving lad, a special lad. He deserves a good home, and it sounds like you'd be just what he needs.Me: Um...[hesitant, doubtful, not really wanting an aggressive dog foisted upon me but feeling a bit sorry for Man on account of his marital demise]... alright then. I'll walk him.

The rest, as they say, is history. The connection I felt with Zig that day on that walk was so strong that it erased all doubt. I paid the adoption deposit on the spot and returned home to await the home-check that GIN always carry out before releasing their wards to new owners. I planned to go back to collect Ziggy straight after.

Perhaps, though, I wasn't the only one who felt mine and Zig's connection that day because when GIN came for the home-check they brought Ziggy with them. Either that or they were just so relieved that somebody wanted him.

I had time, in the following weeks, to study Zig properly. Having been passed from pillar to post, albeit with the best intentions, he was nervous to be in yet another new environment. He wouldn't look at my face, he didn't wag his tail. He was bald on his stomach and chest. He had staple-gun staples down the back of one leg (a quick fix to an injury long since healed and never removed). And he bit - a lot.

Never aggressively, though. I mean, yes, the bites were hard and vicious as dog bites tend to be. But they were momentary. The biting was reactive - to triggers I had yet to work out - and after each one Zig looked even more confused and mortified by his actions than I was. It was also evident in his sleep aggression. It's another fairly common disorder in ex-racing greyhounds, but in Ziggy's case was pronounced, with some fairly horrific displays of body-raising, lip-curled snarling, all done in his sleep.

It took patience and willing, on both sides, to get to the point we're at now, two years on, where I can properly manhandle Ziggy. His bite triggers are to do with certain noises and gestures coming close to certain parts of his body. There are still no-go areas on his body in terms of touching him, and there may always be. But I think what's driven me on to try and overcome these difficulties is that, biting and snarling aside, I have genuinely never known a dog as affectionate and loving as Ziggy is.

He yearns for it so badly - you can see it in his every fibre of being - and I guess I just wanted him to have that. To have the strokes, the kisses, the cuddles, the rubs; the leaping and jumping and rolling around on the ground, the carefree and wonderfully-bonkers silliness of play.

We're getting there. Bites are rare now and the sleep aggression nothing more than the odd rumble. There are masses of cuddles and there is plenty of play. Watching and sharing with him as Zig has learned to trust my touch, my noises, my gestures, and those of family and friends as well, has been immensely gratifying. And the quivering joy that affection brings to him as he allows himself to receive it, never fails to both move and inspire me.

I don't know if Man ever resolved things with his wife, but I do know he was right about Ziggy. He's a special lad, and I feel extremely privileged to have this beautiful dog in my life.

Ziggy's one in a million. But he's also one of a million, or at least of several thousand ex-racing greyhounds who need rehoming every year in Britain alone. If you're thinking of having a dog, then please consider adopting an rescue greyhound. And if you're thinking of adopting a rescue greyhound, then definitely do it.